Kerala High Court Issues Contempt Notice to Official Over Violations in Elephant Regulations

Kochi, Dec 11 (NationPress) The Kerala High Court on Wednesday issued a contempt notice to an officer of the Cochin Devaswom Board under the Contempt of Courts Act for purportedly violating its guidelines concerning the utilization of elephants at temple festivals. This move comes in light of escalating worries about the treatment of elephants at these events.

The court highlighted infractions that occurred during the Tripunithura Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple festival, which took place from November 29 to December 6. It observed that on December 2, a total of 15 elephants were confined in a cramped space, ignoring the required three-meter distance mandated between each animal as per the court's guidelines.

Last week, the court had instructed the officer to submit an affidavit clarifying the alleged misconduct.

While the officer acknowledged violations on just one day, he attributed this to a lack of cooperation from devotees, who claimed that the Devaswom official disrupted temple rituals.

In response, the Court remarked: "Will you disobey the Court's mandate simply because some devotees claim so? No, we cannot accept this affidavit. We will commence contempt proceedings for blatant disregard of our directives. The state cannot descend into lawlessness. How could you endanger lives? We maintain zero tolerance for such conduct."

The Court further indicated that the officer's conduct constituted civil contempt and instructed the registry to officially register a contempt case. The officer was mandated to reply by January 9, 2025. "We, therefore, direct the registry to formally register a Contempt of Court case and to issue a notice to the deponent Devaswom officer without delay so that the deponent officer can respond by January 9, 2025," the court stated.

During the proceedings, the court received information regarding the declining health of a 65-year-old elephant. This led the bench to comment: "Elephants are representations of Lord Ganapathi. Is this how we treat Lord Ganapathi? Why are we so cruel?"

The Court directed the amicus curiae to consult specialists regarding the assessment of elephants' age and condition and to present a report.

"We require regulations if captive elephants are to be paraded; existing captive elephants must be cared for, and there should be facilities for rehabilitating elephants that are unsuitable for parading. Who will rehabilitate these elephants and where will the funding originate?" the court stated, postponing the matter to December 19.